Dances With Direwolves
by benswife
Summary: In this slightly future fic based on both the books and the show Jaime Lannister (my favorite character obviously) attempts to rescue Sansa from Ramsay Bolton.
1. Chapter 1

The gates of Winterfell were opened and Jaime Lannister and his men were let inside without questions being asked. Roose Bolton still had an alliance with the Lannisters after all. There was no reason not to let Jaime in. Sansa remembered the last time that Jaime Lannister had visited Winterfell with King Robert and Prince Joffrey. She had been so young and stupid then. Whatever the reason he came for this time, she would not be so stupid as to trust a single word he said. Not after everything she had suffered.

Sansa was expected to dine with her husband, good father, and their Lannister guests and she did so, though unhappily.

"It looks like your rebuilding efforts are coming along nicely." Jaime commented to Roose as they sat down for their meal.

"Ah yes, we were nearly finished repairing the walls before Stannis attacked and we have had to repair the damage a second time since his defeat." Roose stated.

"I heard it was no simple matter to defeat him, what with all of Stannis forces and the Wildlings against you as well." Jaime inquired.

"The Knights of the Vale came to our aid. Though, it would have been much more difficult without the wildfire." Ramsay spoke up, a little too happy about the wildfire. "But I was willing to do anything to get back my bride after he stole her from me. Isn't that right Sansa?"

"Of course my lord." Sansa said. She knew he wanted her to thank him for his _rescue_ but she just didn't have it in her to do so.

"So what brings you here, all the way from Kingslanding?" Roose said, calmly changing the subject.

"Actually, I've just come from Dorne. You are aware that Lord Baelish was offered a new position for his assistance against Stannis?" Jaime broached the subject.

"So you have come to remove me as Warden of the North and instate Littlefinger?" Roose said.

"That would have been my mission yes, had he not gone missing just after the battle." Jaime said.

Ramsay smiled. "Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"

Roose cut in before Ramsay could say something stupid. "There are a number of things that could have happened to Lord Baelish. It was the chaos of battle after all. He could have been killed and burned by wildfire. He could have fled during the battle as he was not known as a man of war, perhaps he is merely in hiding until he can attain a new means of power."

"I don't suppose _you_ saw anything?" Ramsay asked Sansa. "While Stannis had you, did you see Lord Littlefinger? Maybe you have some idea of what happened to him?"

"Of course not my lord. I was never allowed out of my tent." Sansa said.

"Well there you have it." Roose said. "We had nothing to do with Baelish going missing. Unless you have another Warden of the North available, perhaps it would be best to put the matter to rest."

"I will for now." Jaime agreed. "If you will allow me one concession?"

"And what would that be?" Roose asked.

"Send the bones of Brienne of Tarth back to her father Lord Selwyn." He said.

"Done. In the meantime, you and your men are our welcome guests. Feel free to stay at Winterfell for as long as you need." Roose said.

Ser Jaime caught up to Sansa in the hallway after dinner, There was no one else nearby. "Lady Sansa, is there someplace I can speak to you where we won't be overheard?" He asked.

She regarded him warily. "Why?"

He seemed at a loss for words. "I came to help." He finally said.

"You can't help me." She said and turned away from him.

"Sansa wait…" He called after her.

She wanted to keep going. She didn't believe he would really help her. Yet she couldn't entirely push aside the hope that he would. There had to be some hope somewhere in the world, didn't there? "Why? Would you help me?"

"I made a vow to your mother, the same vow that Brienne of Tarth made. I intend to keep it." He said.

"Forgive me ser, but even if that's true, you still have given me no cause to trust you." She said.

"You're right. I haven't. Do you trust your good father and lord husband to care for you better?"

Sansa swallowed, trying to bite back her tears. "No."

"I thought as much." Jaime said. They heard someone approaching in the hall. "We will speak later." He said, walking away from her.

Sansa went back to her chambers and bolted the door shut. Ramsay had probably gone to Myranda after dinner, at least she hoped he had. She had long ago been forbidden from locking the door to him.

She collapsed onto her bed wearily. She had no idea what to make of Jaime Lannister and his offer. It had to be some sort of trick. It always was. Sansa awoke some hours later to someone pounding on the door.

"Let me in Sansa!" It was Ramsay. She hurried to the door. "What have I told you about locking me out?"

"Never to do so, my lord."

"That's right, I said never to do so. So why have you locked me out this room?" He asked almost kindly.

"I was only trying to keep out the Lannister men. They frighten me." She told him.

"You needn't be frightened. I would never let them hurt you. In fact I can go have them punished right now just for scaring my beloved bride."

Sansa reached over and put a hand on his arm. "There's no need for that my lord. I'm much safer now that you're here."

He smiled broadly. He took her again that night as he had so many other nights. She awoke in the morning and he was gone. Sansa dressed herself. She didn't bother to send for maids to help her. They always looked like they felt sorry for her pain and she hated to see the pity in their eyes. She dressed herself and went to the great hall for breakfast. Ser Jaime was in the corridor on her way there.

"Do you go to the godswood to pray?" He asked, walking along beside her.

"Perhaps I will today, after the noon meal." She told him. He only nodded. With that their meeting had been arranged.

Sansa didn't kneel in the godswood while she waited for Ser Jaime. She felt as though she were walking into a trap and kneeling would have only made it worse. He came alone, which surprised her because she had truly expected he would bring some of his men.

"Ramsay knows I'm in the godswood." She told him straight away, just to make it clear that he could not kidnap her from here.

"I expected as much. Does he think you're alone?"

"I told him I would be. He probably thinks I was lying."

"Then I'll make this quick. If you want to leave this place, I'll take you with me. I'll do everything I can to bring you someplace safe." He said.

"I doubt there is any place in all the world that would be _safe_ for me. Where could I possibly go? No one could take me in without risking war with house Bolton."

"I could take you to Casterly Rock."

"And what, the Lannisters would be at war with the Boltons?"

"Probably." He admitted.

"Why not just kill them, Roose and Ramsay? Then I could have my home back."

"It would be a betrayal. It's more honorable to challenge a man to battle than to murder them in their own bed while I'm their guest." He said.

"I suppose you're right." She said sadly.

"I still want to help you. I'll stay for a while longer. For a fortnight at least. If you change your mind…"

"I understand Ser." She told him and with that he left her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaime hadn't truly expected her to be willing to leave with him right away. He had known it would take time but his time was very limited. Roose had welcomed him as a guest but common courtesy forbade him from overstaying his welcome more than a moon's turn. Any longer than that and the Bolton's would not only want to be rid of him, but they would begin to grow suspicious of what he might really be up to.

It disturbed him that Sansa looked so sad. He's heard rumors that Ramsay was not a kind husband but nothing had prepared him for the listless sadness in her eyes. She was without hope.

He didn't get the chance to speak to her again until three days after his arrival. He found her sitting on a bench in the courtyard, reading. It was a quiet corner on the courtyard and there were no people anywhere nearby.

"I am told your lord husband has gone on a hunt for the day." Jaime said, taking a seat beside her. She eyed him warily but said nothing about the closeness. Then she resumed reading her book. "Today would be a good day to-"

"No." She cut him off. "Roose is still here. In fact his rooms are just over there." She nodded to a window across the courtyard, making it clear that they might have someone watching them at any moment.

"I see. Why doesn't good father hunt as well?" He asked her.

She gave him an odd look. "Ramsay is hunting Milly. She is the daughter of the Master at Arms. He grew bored of her as a lover... "

Jaime felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. "He hunts people?"

Sansa nodded, turning a page in her book. "Yes. And if he is feeling merciful he doesn't flay them when he catches them."

"Gods Sansa… aren't you worried…?"

"Of course I'm worried I could be next." She said in a whisper that was more of a hiss. "The only thing I can do is try not to bore him."

"I know you must think Lannisters are monsters, but we wouldn't resort to something as brutal as that." Jaime told her. "I would never hurt you."

She looked up from her book at him. "I don't think you would. Tyrion never did."

"Then why… why won't you let me take you from here?"

"If hunting and flaying is what he does to people who bore him, imagine what he would do to those who betray him." She said anxiously.

So it was her fear of getting caught trying to escape that was holding her here. At least now he understood. "We won't get caught." He told her.

"How do you know that?" She said, tears in her eyes.

"Because I have a plan. It will work. You'll be safe."

"I… I don't know...I can't…" She tried to speak but was clearly torn on what to do.

He reached over and took her trembling hand in his. "Sansa, I won't let him hurt you. Do you understand?"

Her eyes filled with tears and she squeezed his hand in return.

"I'll come find you to speak about this again." He said and got up from the bench, letting go of her hand.

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Sansa paced her room worriedly. What if Roose had seen her sitting with Ser Jaime? What if he had seen them holding hands? Would he tell Ramsay? She honestly doubted that he would. Roose never said anything when he'd caught her disobeying some of Ramsay's other commands. It was as if such pettiness was below him. But this wasn't just locking the door when her husband had wanted it unlocked or wearing Stark colors instead of Bolton, this was… this could look like she was _interested_ in Ser Jaime and that could be bad for her.

She would deny it all of course if she thought he would believe it but she knew he wouldn't. He never believed her lies, at least not the important ones. And this was going to be a big lie. She had learned to be brave in all her sufferings. She had learned to make up lies when she needed them. She had lied to the lords of the Vale. And told many lies since then. But Ramsay had a knack for torturing the truth out of people and she wasn't confident that she could hold up under it and remain convincing.

She heard the door to her chambers open and turned to face him. Ramsay still had blood on his clothes from the hunt. He was wild eyed and grinning.

"I trust you had an _interesting_ day while I was away, my lady?" Ramsay asked.

He knew. Oh seven hells, he knew! "It was interesting enough, I suppose." She said calmly.

"Really? Because one of the servants told me that you had a nice little chat with the kingslayer."

"It's true, he did speak to me." Sansa said. She couldn't see the point in denying that they had spoken. "We spoke of the last time he visited Winterfell with King Robert." She had decided on this being her story at the last minute.

"I had forgotten. You and Jaime Lannister have met before. He was here at Winterfell for a time and you both at Kingslanding for a time. Were the two of you _close_?" Ramsay asked, stepping closer to her into her space as he did,

This was only getting worse, she knew. "I was only a child then…" Sansa tried to say but she could see already that he didn't believe her. If she continued to deny it, he would hurt her. If she told him what he expected to hear he still might hurt her but at least he would be thrown off from the truth. "I was too young for him to notice me then but I'm not too young anymore."

Ramsay's eyes flashed with some mixture of anger and amusement. "You like him? You would stray from your lord husband for him?"

"No. I only wanted to see if he would notice me. I would have never taken it further than that." She tried to keep the words coming.

"No, you wouldn't have. You _love_ your husband too much for that."

"Of course my lord." She said.

"Good." Ramsay said, the smile back on his face. "Now I wouldn't want you to be lonely tonight. I'm no kingslayer but I think I can make you forget him easily enough."


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning when they all gathered in the great hall for breakfast Ramsay was in an especially good mood.

"I've decided to go on a hunt today." He announced.

"Didn't you just go on a hunt yesterday?" Roose asked, unamused by his son's enthusiasm.

"Yes, I did. But this time I think I'll hunt… stags." Ramsay said.

"Stags?" Sansa found herself speaking up. He never hunted animals like a regular lord. What was he up to?

"Yes. Stags. I hear that's one of the things that people hunt for sometimes." Ramsay said, taking a bite of his food.

"How long will you be gone?" Roose asked, cooly.

"Only for the day. I trust that everyone will be able to keep themselves amused while I'm gone?" Ramsay said. "Oh wait, that was very rude of me. We have guests. Would you like to join me on the hunt Ser Jaime?"

Sansa forced herself to look down at her plate. She knew Ramsay was trying to get a reaction out of her when he suggested taking Ser Jaime on a hunt. Maybe he even meant to kill him. She doubted that though. It was more likely he wanted to see how they reacted to being separated after the lies she had told the previous night.

"I'm not really much for hunting anymore. It works better with two hands." Jaime said.

"Right. Yes. Of course it does." Ramsay said.

Ramsay left that morning on a real hunt, taking much of the household with him. Roose stayed behind of course. He went straight back to his room after breakfast, paying no mind to the fact that only Sansa and Jaime remained in the room.

"I should go." Sansa said getting up hurriedly before silence settled on the room.

"Sansa wait…you needn't be afraid of me."

"He _wants_ us to be alone together. That's why he left. And that's why I have to go." She told him, fleeing the hall.

Sansa found herself in the library that day, trying to find something new to read. She didn't read songs and stories anymore. They were too happy, too filled with dreams. She chose a history volume and sat down in the library to read. It helped to occupy her mind with something.

After the evening meal, Ramsay returned from his hunt.

"Where were you all day?" Ramsay said, slamming the door to her chambers shut behind him.

"I… I was in the library…" She said, unsure what had gotten him so angry.

"And where was Ser Jaime all day?"

"I don't know my lord. I did not see him since breakfast." She said truthfully.

"My father says that Ser Jaime wasn't in his chambers for at least three hours today. Was he with you?"

"No of course not."

"I don't believe you."

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It had taken several hours but Jaime finally found the way out through the crypts. He now had a clear route to get Sansa out when the time came. He had known that a way out had to exist. It was just a matter of finding it.

It was the middle of the night when Jaime heard a light knocking on the door to his chambers. It was Sansa.

"I wasn't followed. May I come in?" She asked anxiously.

He opened the door wider and she rushed inside, pushing the door shut behind her. It was then that he noticed she was injured. He couldn't see any bruises but she moved like an injured person. She was facing away from him, almost clinging to the doorknob. She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"You have to leave." She said. He had expected she was willing to go with him by now. "It's only going to get worse for me the longer you stay."

"I don't understand. What happened?" Jaime asked, confused.

"You were missing for three hours today. I was in the library but Ramsay believes I was missing too…"

"Oh. Seven hells," He breathed when her meaning dawned on him. "Did he punish you for it?"

"Please, just go." She said gently pleading with him.

"Why won't you come with me?"

"He would catch us. And even if he didn't I would still lose my home. Winterfell is all I have left."

"Sansa, I know it's your home. This is the place you grew up. I'm sure it's filled with memories…" He began. Her eyes welled up with tears and he reached over and brushed one of them away. "But no castle can be worth all you've suffered."

Sansa started to waver in her resolve in that moment. She didn't want to suffer anymore. She had wanted to come here to avenge her family. To bide her time until Lord Baelish helped her to kill the Boltons and take her home back. He had lied to her. Everyone always lied to her. Why would this time be any different? She found herself crying again. It seemed she did far too much of that.

"Sansa?" Jaime didn't know what to do with her, she was just melting in front of him.

"I have to...I have to go back to Ramsay… before he notices I'm gone." She sobbed.

"Don't…" He said gently, then he moved into her path and did something hadn't planned on doing, he hugged her.

Sansa had been strong for so many things for so long. She had endured Joffrey because she didn't have a choice. She had endured Ramsay for a chance at getting the revenge and home she wanted. She had shed plenty of tears privately but never in front of a Lannister like this. It had been so long since someone offered her comfort that she found she didn't have the strength to resist. She not only let him hug her, she clung to him, like she was drowning and he was a lifeline.

"Don't go back to him." He said as held her and she tried to calm herself. "We can leave tonight."

"How?" She asked worriedly. "The gates are shut and guarded. We could never get out."

"We can get out through the crypts." Jaime said.

She nodded. "Yes I suppose we could. What about all your men?" Jaime had brought forty Lannister men with him. They couldn't all sneak into the crypt unnoticed and there was no telling what Ramsay might do to them if Jaime left them behind.

"I had planned on getting them out another way. I'll light three candles in the window. I left one of my men in the village. He'll see the signal and come to the gates with an urgent message from the king saying they are needed in the Riverlands. Roose should let them out on the command of the king...Tommen thought he was sealing something else entirely but the message is from him nonetheless...by the time Roose figures out we're gone the men will be far away...I hope…" Jaime said. "And if we're lucky the Boltons might just believe that you and I are with them.

"Okay." She said after half a minute of indecision. "I'll have to go as I am... in the clothes I'm wearing. I'm not going back to Ramsay's chambers to bring anything…he might wake up..."

He nodded and went to the window to light his candles. "Let's go." And he led the way out into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Sansa couldn't remember the way out of the crypts so it was a good thing that Jaime had found the way before. She hadn't really spent much time down there as a child. Bran and Arya sometimes went down there. She usually hadn't gone with them. She wished now that she had, that this place was more familiar to her than it was. She knew all of the more recent family graves. The older the graves became, the farther back the generations, the less familiar it became. Jaime seemed to know the way and he was eager to get out in a hurry. Sansa didn't want him to know difficult it was for her to keep his pace. She was in too much pain to keep up this speed all night.

It took several hours before they came to the place where the crypts ended and out into the woods. There was a horse waiting for them there.

"My men must have gotten out. I told Brynt to leave a horse here if they did." Jaime said, "There are some more supplies too." He indicated the saddlebags which would be helpful in addition to the bag that he carried.

Sansa eyed the horse with trepidation. It had been bad enough to try and walk at the pace he'd had them going. Riding was going to be painful. Riding at a gallop was going to be excruciating. Sansa mounted the horse anyway and somehow managed to keep silent while she did. Jaime climbed on behind her and they set off.

Jaime knew as well as Sansa did that as soon as Ramsay woke and discovered that Sansa was missing he would either set off to follow the Lannister men, or set the dogs to looking for them, or both. No matter what Ramsay did, speed and distance were important. The Lannister men were headed south towards the riverlands as the message said but ultimately they were headed for Casterly Rock. Jaime planned to take Sansa to the Rock by another route. They would head due west until they reached sea and take a ship to Lannisport.

He knew she was in pain. She was trying to hide it but he knew. She hadn't said a word about her husband did to punish her for the indiscretion she had been accused of and he hadn't pressed her for information. Maybe he should have. She was clearly having a hard time sitting a horse. Escape was the real priority right now but he didn't want to hurt her worse than she already was. Jaime aimed the horse for the forest due west. There were no roads here and if Ramsay guessed which direction they had gone in, their trail wouldn't be difficult to follow. The terrain was rough. He could hear Sansa's ragged breathing as the horse made his way over exposed roots and small hills as they went. The tree branches that hit them in the face from time to time only added to the discomfort. They did their best to duck out of the way when they could but it was dark and sometimes they didn't see the oncoming branch until it was too late. The third time a branch hit Sansa she actually made a small whimper of sound from the pain and Jaime cursed himself for not making her ride behind him. At least then the branches would be hitting him first rather than her. Some true Knight he turned out to be… It was too late to change places now. They couldn't stop for a long while yet.

Sansa had no idea how many hours had passed when she found herself waking in a bed of moss on the forest floor. The sky looked like dawn or dusk, she couldn't be sure which. Jaime was on the ground a few feet away working on finding something in his supply bag.

"We've stopped?" She dared to ask. "How long have I…?"

"You passed out a few hours after we set out. We rode all through the night and all day today. It is just evening now." He told her.

She didn't remember passing out at all. That had to have meant he held onto her somehow to keep her on the horse.

"And Ramsay?" Sansa asked worriedly.

He shook his head. "I've seen no signs of him yet." Jaime left the rest unspoken. It was still early enough that Ramsay could catch up to them if was he were on their trail.

"Maybe we shouldn't stay here long." Sansa suggested.

"We won't. You need rest. You're injured. We'll stay for a couple of hours at most."

"I'm fine." She said, trying to sit up from where she lay only to have her body betray her with a cry of pain.

"You're not fine. If we're going to survive this, you're going to have to learn not to lie to me, Sansa." Jaime said, slightly angry with her.

"Would you rather I were weeping and screaming from all the pain, Ser?" She said the words kindly but did not mean them so.

"No. But I'd rather be aware of how much help you might need than not be aware of it." He said, passing her a chunk of bread. "Eat this. Try to sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to move again."

"When will you sleep?" She asked.

"I slept a little on the horse. He kept going without my help…. just try to sleep."

Sansa nodded. She wasn't sure she could sleep, given the danger they were in but her tiredness soon overcame her and she drifted off whether she want to or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Three days. Three days they had been riding almost endlessly. Stopping to rest for an hour or two and then riding some more. It was nearly sunset. Jaime took their horse across a small stream and dismounted to take a rest on the other side. He reached up for Sansa and helped her down as he usually did. She found it difficult to stand when her feet touched the ground but she reached for the saddle for support, not for him.

"I'm going to start a fire." Jaime told her, letting her go so she could cling to the saddle next to them more easily. "I think it's time we slept for a whole night. The horse needs it too."

She only nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak or move any further without crying out in pain. She had guessed by now that Ramsay must have broken one or two of her ribs. He had raped her too of course. And now there were bruises on her arms and face from the tree branches but those were no one's fault. Sansa watched for a moment as Jaime set to work gathering wood for a fire. They had barely spoken in all this time. She hadn't even been conscious for much of the journey, she kept blacking out from either pain or exhaustion. Now _he_ looked exhausted. She knew she should help him gather firewood but she wasn't even sure if she could take the five steps she would need to take to sit down next to the fire. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and let go of her grip on the saddle. She managed to turn and take three steps before she felt herself collapsing.

Even if Jaime had seen that she was about to fall, he couldn't have caught her. She was too far away from him and he wasn't even standing. "Are you alright Sansa?" He asked, getting up to go to her. She was crumpled up on the ground, She looked up at him with anger in her eyes.

"I'm fine.' She managed to say. She allowed him to help her move closer to the fire.

He went to the horse, tended the beast, and then returned to the fireside. Sansa was still unhappy about something. "I suppose I'm not the gallant knight you hoped for, letting you fall like that." He joked.

"I didn't hope for any knight. I haven't for a very long time." Sansa said.

He shrugged. "I suppose then that a slow one handed knight is better than none at all."

Sansa wasn't sure what he expected her to say. She didn't really understand why he had come for her and though she was grateful for it, exceedingly grateful, some part of her had worried from the beginning what this journey was going to cost her. Did he expect her to fall in love with her rescuer like he were some hero from the songs? Would he take her back to Cersei to be a Lannister hostage again? To be executed for Joffrey's death? She had no way of knowing what the future held even if they could manage to escape the north. "I thank you for helping me, Ser." She finally gave the most neutral response she could think of.

They lapsed into silence for a time while they ate some more dry bread. "How badly injured are you? What did he do to you?" Jaime asked after a time.

"I think some ribs may be broken...he struck me with a mallet...and of course he took his rights without asking…" She said more boldly than she felt. "He has done worse in the past. I'll be fine soon enough."

"Sansa…" Jaime could hardly believe what he was hearing though he could see right away that she didn't want his pity. "Perhaps it would be better to wrap some linens tightly around you under your clothes to support your ribs."

"No." She said firmly. "There's no need for that Ser. I'll be fine. I'm already much better than I was a few days ago."

Jaime highly doubted that. It was very much more likely that their method of travelling was only making her more uncomfortable and slowing her healing. Maybe she thought he only wanted her to take off her dress. He decided not to push the issue. It wasn't worth upsetting her. "If you say so." He conceded.

"Perhaps you should sleep Ser." Sansa said. "I've had far more sleep than you have recently. I can keep watch for a while.

He nodded, exhaustion taking over. "Alright, but not more than a few hours."

She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Sansa awoke at dawn and found that Ser Jaime was still asleep as well. Their horse was nearby grazing and the forest was silent. She breathed a sigh of relief. She had failed to keep watch but at least no one had found them yet.

"Ser Jaime?" She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder to wake him.

He rubbed his eyes. "Shit. You fell asleep?" He asked irritated on seeing the daylight.

"I'm sorry." Sansa said, though she didn't feel very sorry. Of course she agreed it had been dangerous to fall asleep, but it had been an accident, one that she couldn't help.

He sighed. "It's no matter. I'll take the first watch next time."

"If you think you can do it better, perhaps that would be best Ser." Sansa said cooly.

He hadn't expected her to be so distant with him. He wasn't sure what he had expected. He supposed he had expected that rescuing her, that keeping his oath to Catlyn Stark would feel more redemptive. So far it didn't. And he had thought, given the way that Sansa had clung to him the night they left that she might _need_ him more. He decided it didn't matter. He didn't need her to see him as some hero to restore his honor. He only needed to get her to safety. That was the part that mattered, wasn't it?


	6. Chapter 6

A fortnight passed before the pain had dulled enough for Sansa to really be aware of her surroundings and even really focus on a conversation with her travelling companion. Overall he had been kind to her. She suspected he was a little irritated with her helplessness and so she had tried to do everything she could on her own. She wanted to do that anyway. She would have never sought help from a Lannister. She only accepted it now because this Lannister was a better alternative than Ramsay. It didn't mean she trusted him. It didn't mean she would forget herself again and allow him to hug her like he had that night they had escaped. That had been a moment of weakness. One that would not be repeated. It had been stupid to imagine that the hug had been anything other than a manipulation tactic to convince her to leave with him. Apparently it had worked. She only hoped that by leaving she wasn't walking into a worse situation.

"It's been two weeks." Sansa said as they sat by the fire that evening, "If the Boltons haven't caught up to us yet, do you think they still could?"

"I doubt it, but we'll need to keep moving just in case." Jaime said. "You seem to be feeling better." He went on.

She nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"That's good. It will make things easier." He said.

She wondered if he meant things would be easier for her or for himself. She decided she didn't care. It didn't really matter if the journey got easier or not because she still didn't even know what would happen to her at the end of it.

"Why are you doing this Ser?" She finally made herself ask. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because of the oath I made to your mother…" He began but she was shaking her head as if she didn't believe him.

"No. I saw you at Kingslanding before Joffrey died. If you had wanted to help me, why didn't you do it then?"

Jaime looked down. "You're right. I should have helped you then. I sent Brienne of Tarth to do what I should have done and she was flayed for it…" He seemed hardly able to speak. He had been in Dorne at the time trying to rescue Myrcella and trying to make Cersei proud of him. He had failed in that endeavor as well. Sansa was his last chance at honor. He didn't know how to make her see that.

"She was your friend?" Sansa asked.

"Yes."

That at least made a little more sense to Sansa. Ramsay had killed Jaime's friend and he wanted to finish the work that she had started. Maybe. "Where will we go? Are we going to Casterly Rock?"

"Yes and once we get there we may find ourselves marching on Winterfell with a Lannister army." He said.

"What?"

"Sansa, you didn't think I meant to take you away and keep you at Casterly Rock? You were right when you said Winterfell is your home. The oath I swore to your mother was to take you home, not take you away from your home. You'll go back there. Somehow. I'll try to get the king to help us resolve this peacefully. But it will be resolved."

His words filled her with confusion. "And if the king can't help? You would send Lannister men to their deaths just to get the Boltons out of Winterfell? Why didn't you just bring more men when you visited and have it done with already?"

"If I had brought a whole army the Boltons would have known something was up. They would have never let me in and you would have never gotten out. This was the best way I could think of."

Even if he was telling the truth, she still didn't understand why this oath he had made, or why this revenge on Ramsay for what he had done to Brienne (and what he had done to Brienne had been absolutely horrifying) was worth risking his life and the lives of so many others.

Jaime could see the confusion on Sansa's face. She didn't trust him. She didn't know why he was doing this or what his motives were. He supposed it made sense for her to mistrust everyone given everything she had suffered. And it probably didn't help that he was known as an oathbreaker and was now trying keep an oath.

"You don't believe me?" He asked her.

She swallowed. "I don't believe anyone."


	7. Chapter 7

The nights were growing colder. The fire that they had each night really wasn't quite enough to keep warm. Jaime knew that they would be warmer if they slept closer together. He suspected Sansa knew it too. He also suspected that she would take such a suggestion from him to mean something entirely different from what he intended it to mean, so he said nothing at first. He wouldn't be able to remain silent for much longer. Not if the nights continued to grow colder as they had in the last few days. None of this was worth anything if they both froze to death in the end.

Sansa kept telling herself she wasn't cold. She was a child of the north. A Stark of Winterfell. Winter was in her blood. How humiliating it would be if the cold ended up being the thing that made her seek out Jaime Lannister's assistance. She shivered under her blanket as the first snow began to fall. The shivering made her ribs hurt again. There was no way she could fall asleep like this. She glanced across at Jaime on the other side of the fire and could see that he was just as cold as she was.

"Are you warm enough, Sansa?" He asked her on seeing her gaze."

"Yes." She said, trying to hide the chattering of her teeth.

"I thought I asked you not to lie to me." He said, irritated.

"I'm not frozen yet, Ser." She said, refusing to admit she needed any additional help from a Lannister.

"It must be the wolf blood in you. Lions aren't meant for cold places like this." He said.

If that was supposed to be an invitation of sorts she wasn't about to accept it. She thought of telling him that perhaps the lion shouldn't have come so far north if he didn't like the cold but that would have been rude. He _had_ been helping her after all, and he hadn't really done anything unkind, so she said nothing.

Jaime sighed. "Sansa, you should come sleep closer. For your sake as well as for mine."

"I can't…" She breathed. It wasn't that she didn't trust him not to harm her. She didn't want to need him for anything else.

"I won't hurt you… you must know that...and all of this will have been pointless if we both freeze to death" He said.

"I know." She said, still not moving from where she lay.

"You can't possibly be any warmer than I am. And you've been sitting close to me on horseback for three weeks so I doubt you're frightened by my proximity...what's stopping you from simply getting warm the only way you can?" He asked her.

"I don't know." She said evasively.

"I think you do know. But if you'd rather stay over there and freeze to death and leave me to freeze along with you I suppose that's your choice to make." Jaime said, angry.

Sansa tried not to feel guilty at hearing those words. She knew he was right. If his story had been true, then no one had forced him to come and rescue her. It would be stupid of her to let them both freeze simply out of stubbornness. Tears in her eyes she got up and took her blanket with her, laying down next to Jaime without a word. He helped her cover them both with the second blanket and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for warmth.

"See, it's not so bad?" He said gently once she was settled.

"I didn't expect it would be...I just...I don't like needing so much help...especially from…"

"From a Lannister?" He guessed.

Sansa nodded. "But you're right, There's no point in both of us freezing."

None of this was going the way that Jaime had wanted it to go. It had begun with Sansa not wanting to be rescued, moved on to her refusing to let him help her with her injuries, and then she didn't even want to be near him for warmth. He had resigned himself to the fact that he was no hero. She was a Stark and he was a Lannister and there were some things about their family histories that would always come between them. Still, some part of him had hoped that he could be of some use on this journey. It would have been nice if she seemed a little bit thankful or as if she needed him for something. Perhaps he had been entirely wrong. Perhaps keeping his oath was never going to mean anything to anyone. He might as well just stayed home if that were the case. It was too late for that now. He was going to see this through no matter if she wanted him there or not.

He looked down at where Sansa was falling asleep in his arms. She was a beautiful young woman. The bruises on her face from the tree branches were all but faded but he could see more bruising on her collarbone from something Ramsay must have done to her. She hadn't deserved to be treated so. It was too bad she couldn't have had a more worthy knight to rescue her.

Sansa had never slept in a man's arms before. Ramsay was far too restless at night and often didn't even stay in the bed after he took his rights. She woke up feeling warmer than she had in several weeks. And she felt peaceful. She knew that at least for now, Ser Jaime wouldn't hurt her and there was a certain amount of security in knowing that. She felt tears forming in her eyes and she pulled away from him before she could allow them to fall.

"Is it morning?" Jaime asked, opening his eyes.

"Yes. It snowed a lot last night." She told him.

He pushed back the blanket that Sansa had already crawled out of to find that the ground was covered by several inches of snow.

"Will it slow us down?" She asked him of the snow.

"Not too much. You needn't worry about that anyway Sansa. I'll keep you safe."

And for the first time since they had started on this journey she thought that he might actually mean that.


	8. Chapter 8

Sansa tried not to pay any attention to the way Jaime's arms were wrapped around her as they rode that day. She did her best to ignore the warmth of his chest against her back. Early on in their journey she hadn't been alert enough to notice and the past few days she had been reciting songs over and over in her mind to keep from thinking about it. She didn't know why it was suddenly so much more difficult to ignore… except that she did know. It was because she had allowed herself to _feel_ something for him when she had woken up so close to him that morning. Long ago, she had once thought Ser Jaime was very handsome for an older man. That was before she had known what Lannisters were capable of. She was going to have to try harder to remember that now. It didn't matter if he was being kind to her at the moment. It didn't matter if she felt safe with him for some delusional reason. It was all temporary. It always was. She needed to just accept that.

Jaime could see that something was on Sansa's mind as they rode that day. She was stiff, almost angry, and sometimes she leaned away from him in the saddle. He hadn't realized he liked being close to her until he found that she was pulling away.

"Is something troubling you, Sansa?" Jaime asked her as the noonday approached.

"No, I'm fine Ser." She said.

"You know you're not a very good liar." He said teasingly.

"Ramsay said so too." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry. I suppose he had you punished for that as well?"

She nodded. "I tried not to lie to him but sometimes he wouldn't believe the truth...so I'd make up something that I thought he might believe...it never turned out well."

"You should have never ended up with the likes of him. I should have helped you when I had the chance back before Joffrey died." Jaime said, filled with regret.

"I was married to Tyrion then. There's probably nothing you could have done. The fault is mine really."

"I don't believe that. Ramsay is a monster. You're not at fault for anything that he chose to inflict on you." Jaime said.

Sansa was a little surprised to hear the anger in his tone. "You hate him because of what he did to Brienne?"

"Yes. But not just Brienne. At least Brienne had a sword and armor and a chance to defend herself. What was done to her is no way to treat one's enemies… but you weren't even supposed to be an enemy. He married you. He could have at least tried to be kind." Jaime said, still upset about the subject of Ramsay Bolton.

"I don't think he's capable of being kind." Sansa said, and then she couldn't help realizing that Jaime _was_ capable of being kind had been so since he came for her.

"Perhaps not. But you still haven't answered my question truthfully. What's troubling you?" He asked.

"I would rather not answer that if you don't mind Ser." She said. There was no way in seven hells that she was going to tell him her thoughts on their recent closeness.

"Fair enough." He said.

When Jaime helped Sansa down from the horse that evening she didn't reach for the saddle to keep upright as had been her habit all along. She had meant to. It just didn't happen that way. The concern in his eyes caught her off guard and she found herself hanging onto him for support instead of the horse. He seemed surprised but he didn't leave to go make the fire as he usually did. He held her upright for a few seconds and allowed her to get her footing, then her let her go.

Jaime felt a little relieved that Sansa had actually let him help her with something for once. It didn't mean she trusted him but it was a step. A big step.

( _Author's note: I know this story is a bit of a slow burn with not a lot of action or adventure happening. I just wanted to try to keep the characters true to who they would be in this situation. They wouldn't fall for each other right away if they even would at all...And travelling by horseback through the woods isn't very exciting.)_


	9. Chapter 9

Sansa didn't argue with Jaime about sleeping close that night. She resigned herself to the fact that sleeping close to him was just a matter of survival. She wouldn't allow herself to feel comforted by the closeness. She would think about the hateful things that Jaime had done. Like killing Jory. Jory had been a good man. All of her father's men had been good. No they hadn't. The Hound's words came back to her _all men are killers_ and she knew that she probably hadn't seen her father's men for who they truly were back then. That didn't change the fact that Jory hadn't needed to die. Jaime had killed Jory because her mother had captured Tyrion...Robb hadn't killed anyone in an attempt to set her free…thinking about this only saddened and confused her. She went back to reciting songs in her head but found herself feeling safe and relaxed. _That_ wasn't what she wanted. Not with him. Not that she wanted to be terrified and uncomfortable either but safe and relaxed would only lead to her trusting him more than she should… so she thought about the rumors Stannis had spread about Jaime and Cersei. Littlefinger had told her that it wasn't just a rumor. Surely that would be disgusting enough to push away this sense of safety she felt with him. Except it wasn't. She hated Cersei but she found she didn't care what their relationship might be. It didn't change the fact that he was still kinder to her than anyone had been in a long time. Maybe the kindness would reach an end eventually when he and Cersei were reunited but the fact was that for tonight she was safe. Would it really be so bad to take comfort in that for just a little while and not think about what might happen later? Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

Jaime had felt it the moment that Sansa's body went from tense to relaxed. She even leaned a little closer to him when she did. He wasn't sure what had caused it and with her willingness to talk to him so far he would probably never find out.

He tried again to speak with her the next day and found her a little less reticent. They didn't speak about any of the recent history between their families. Neither of them wanted to speak of that just yet. Or maybe they did but were afraid it would ruin the comfortable companionship they had begun to form. Instead they spoke of stories and songs and more ancient history.

"What is it like at Casterly Rock?" Sansa asked him late that afternoon.

"Casterly Rock is huge." He began telling her about his boyhood home and the Sunset Sea and the Westerlands where she had never visited.

"I would have thought that very lovely when I was a child." Sansa said sadly when he had finished.

"And now you don't?"

"No, I suppose it is just as lovely a place. I only meant that I wanted nothing more than to leave Winterfell and see the South. And then later I was so desperate to return to Winterfell that I trusted _Littlefinger."_ She said as if she could hardly believe her own stupidity.

"Are you saying it was Baelish who arranged for your return to Winterfell somehow?" He asked, still not clear on what had happened.

Sansa nodded, unsure if she wanted to even tell him this. "Petyr took me away from King's Landing after Joffrey died to the Vale with my Aunt Lysa. Everyone knows the story about his love for my mother. He had me convinced that he was helping me for her sake… that maybe he even cared for me…" Sansa found herself brushing away an unwanted tear. "I didn't know how I felt about him but it was nice to have someone care."

"Then what happened?" Jaime asked warily. He could see that this story would not have a happy ending.

"As I'm sure you well know, my Aunt Lysa wasn't sane. Petyr kissed me when he knew she would see it and she went into a jealous rage and tried to kill me… except Petyr killed her instead. I think he wanted me to believe he had done it to save me but I know better now… he arranged the marriage with the Ramsay knowing that Stannis was marching on Winterfell… he assured me that I would be able to avenge my family...that he'd bring the knights of the Vale and Stannis would win and name me Wardeness of the North…"

"Except Baelish made an agreement with the crown to help _stop_ Stannis in exchange for being named Warden himself." Jaime said, he was starting to see where this was going. "Let me guess, he didn't even show up until it was clear which side would win?"

Sansa nodded, brushing away more tears. "Roose Bolton had been buying something from the south for weeks before Stannis arrived. Then he had a catapult made… no one knew it was wildfire until it was too late. Once the wildfire was unleashed there was nothing that Stannis could do...I was there...my tent burned down around me…" Sansa stopped, to shaken to recount the story.

"I'm sorry." Jaime said, realizing she was traumatized by these memories. "What makes you think Baelish didn't intend to save you?" He doubted it himself. Littlefinger probably had no intention of doing anything but gaining power for himself but with the man likely dead, it couldn't hurt for Sansa to believe the more positive version of events. She'd had enough sadness as it was.

"Because I _did_ see him. My tent was burning down around me… I ran out and there was green fire everywhere...my dress caught fire and I had to strip it off and wear only a shift..I could see the Baratheon men being slaughtered all around me by the Knights of the Vale… then one of the Knights saw me and he rode straight at me and grabbed me up on his way past...he took me off the battlefield...to Littlefinger."

Jaime waited for a moment for her to compose herself and go on with her story. She did.

"I was upset of course when I found him. I screamed at him and demanded to know why he had waited so long to arrive? And why was he fighting _against_ Stannis? He tried to reassure me that he had only waited so long to keep his men clear of the wildfire… that he would be named Warden of the North himself if Stannis lost and I could still keep my home...that's when I realized that he had known all along that Roose had wildfire and that Stannis had me in the middle of it and he had done nothing to help me...he had _never_ cared a thing for me… only for power...I tried to walk away from him...I don't even know where I would have gone… he wouldn't let me leave...he grabbed me around the waist...he said he _needed_ me if he were going to rule the north… he tried to kiss me...and that was how the Bolton men found us… the battle was all but over and we were surrounded by Ramsay and his men who had come out of the castle looking for me…they had banner of the Vale rather than flayed men."

"That can't have ended well." Jaime said, worried to even know the truth of it.

"It didn't. They took us back to the castle. I think he expected the Knights of the Vale to save him but they didn't even see us. Petyr was taken to a cell. Roose went down there first...Ramsay made a show of how worried he had been for me and how upset he was to have found me with another man...so I told him what he wanted to hear...I told him I was happy to be rescued by my lord husband… that I had missed him and was happy to be home again...I told him that Petyr had been trying to rape me… that I hated him… that I didn't want Petyr to be Lord of Winterfell...that he was a vile and disgusting man… and Ramsay wanted me to prove it."

"Gods...Ramsay made you kill Petyr Baelish?"

Sansa nodded, more tears slipping out of her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Jaime said. It was going to take him a while to process all of this anyway. So for a long while the pair of them rode in silence.


	10. Chapter 10

When they crawled into the blankets that night to go to sleep next to the fire, Jaime found himself pulling her a little closer to him than he had the last two nights. He wanted offer some sort of comfort after all that she had just told him. He was relieved to find that she didn't resist being held, she wasn't stiff. She was relaxed and he soon felt her warm tears falling onto his neck and chest. After a while she stopped crying and he thought she must be asleep.

"Jaime?" Sansa spoke up quietly.

"What is it Sansa?"

"Thank you...for getting me away from _him_...thank you."

He couldn't say anything. Just saying she was welcome didn't seem like enough. So he just squeezed her a little tighter in response.

"Ow!" She said, still having some lingering pain in her ribs but apparently not too much as she soon started to laugh. "You're supposed to be rescuing me not crushing me"

"Sorry… though I suppose the songs that they write about the golden handed Lannister who crushed the Stark girl might be more interesting than the ones about them riding endlessly through the woods where nothing happens to them at all." Jaime pointed out jokingly.

"I think I'd much rather have nothing happen at all then have…" Sansa trailed off and he knew he meant she'd rather have had a different life in many ways.

"Then I'll try to keep the rest of our journey as boring as I possibly can for you." He said.

"I didn't say I wanted boring." She protested. "I only meant...uneventful."

"I think I can manage that too but only if we get enough sleep." He said, smiling.

She took the hint and went silent. Soon after, they were both asleep.

The following day Jaime had to hunt for food. They were growing lower on supplies and he thought it would be just over a week before they reached the coast. He had a crossbow which would do well enough on small game like rabbits and the like. He left Sansa at their campsite and was gone for several hours. Two people traipsing around in the woods would have been too noisy. It was better if he went alone.

It was the first time that Sansa had been separated from Jaime in all this time. She was a little irritated with herself to discover that she missed him.

Jaime returned with a rabbit and they had meat cooked over the fire to eat that night.

"The last time I ate rabbit at the fireside like this was when I was on the kingsroad after leaving Winterfell for the first time." Sansa commented.

"I barely remember seeing you on that journey." Jaime said, he remembered Arya because she had never stayed still for long. Everyone had seen her everywhere.

"That's probably because you were-" Sansa stopped herself before going on. It had been a long time since she had come so close to speaking her mind like that without even thinking it through. "Because you were busy. I'm sure your sister kept you occupied." Her eyes met his and she waited to see what he would do. He barely reacted. Either Petyr had told her yet another lie, or Jaime was very practiced at telling this one, or he had no idea what she alluding to.

She sighed. "You asked me not to lie to you. If I ask you a question will you do me the courtesy of not lying to me either?" She asked him kindly.

"I will be honest where I can though there are some questions that I won't answer at all."

"Only questions about your sister?"

"Sansa I… why does this matter so much to you? Why do you even care about these rumors?"

"Cersei hates me. She believes I had a hand in killing her son. Apparently you don't share her opinion on that or you wouldn't be helping me...maybe she could convince you to change your mind..."

"Not anymore she can't." Jaime said. "I don't even speak to her now."

"Why?" Sansa asked sadly. If she had any living siblings she couldn't imagine not speaking to them on purpose.

"Because…" Jaime was almost going to lie to her. He knew though that if he wanted Sansa to trust him it would be better to give her the truth, even if that meant she was disgusted with him in the end. Even if she was, she would at least know that he tried to be honest with her. "Because Cersei was the only woman I ever loved and as soon as I was taken prisoner she began taking other men to her bed….I can't forgive that." He said sadly and waited for the disgust to register on her face.

Sansa only seemed surprised. "Oh...so Joffrey was your son?"

Jaime only nodded.

"And Tommen and Myrcella?"

"Yes, they are mine too, but I was never allowed to be their father. I didn't come find you to avenge Joffrey's death if that's what you're worried about. I suspect the Tyrells had more of a role in it than you did and even if you _did_ help kill him...he had your father beheaded and he treated you monstrously...I can't really blame you for that…"

"So you don't want to know if I had a hand in it? He was your son...and the king…" She said with disbelief.

Jaime shrugged. "You forget, I'm not so opposed to killing kings as most people."

Sansa didn't quite believe he meant that. "It's not such an easy thing to kill a person...I know I've only done so once and perhaps it becomes easier for a knight after many battles and many kills...but you have been too kind to me for me to believe that you care nothing for death of your son or of king Aerys...you can't possibly be as heartless as you pretend to be."

"Perhaps not heartless, just reckless." He admitted. "And you're right, it's no easy thing to kill a person, especially not when it is a person that I was sworn to protect…"

"Then why…?" She wanted to ask him why he had killed the mad king.

"Do you know where the wildfire at the battle of Blackwater came from?" Jaime asked her.

Sansa remembered the battle well. It was the night the Hound had come to her room and offered to take her away. "No, I have no idea."

"It was hidden under the city in caches by order of king Aerys many years ago. He had ordered the entire city burned rather than let my father take the city at the end of Robert's Rebellion...Aerys gave the order to burn everyone and the pyromancer tried to leave and carry it out...I killed them both so that the city could not be burned… that's why I killed the mad king…"

"Why did you never tell anyone this?" Sansa asked him. If his story was true then it meant he had saved every in the city by breaking his vows and killing the king. She could think of no better reason to break one's vows.

"It wouldn't have mattered, not to men like your father who cared far more about honor than intentions."

Sansa knew he was right. "I suppose that's true. Even when I was child, if one us children disobeyed him he never cared to hear the reason why. His judgement was always inflexible, we were not permitted to make excuses or offer any explanation. He was a good father but he was not perfect. He probably wouldn't have listened if you had tried to tell him… but _I'm_ listening."

"Then I thank you. No one has cared to listen to me in a long time." Jaime said to her.


	11. Chapter 11

Jaime and Sansa stood side by side at the edge of the treeline gazing at a Castle in the distance.

"That's Deepwood Motte." Sansa said.

Jaime nodded. "We must have strayed further North than I had realized. Ramsay may have sent word to all the neighboring Lords to watch for us. We can't go in there."

"I know. How will we get past it unseen? They'll see us cross the oat fields from their tower if we head for the sea here."

"We'll have to go a couple of miles south then follow the coast until we find one of the smallfolk villages and a ship. And we'll lie about who we are." He said.

"Alright. Who are we then?"

"Beric Hill and Tilly Rivers . We are man and wife who only want passage South so that we can go see my dying mother in the Westerlands before her grandchild is born. That story should be sufficient."

"It should." Sansa agreed.

Something about his words got her thinking. She was supposed to pretend to be with child. There had been two pregnancies since Sansa married Ramsay but she had lost them both due to his severe treatment of her. She realized the full moon had come and gone since their journey began and she had never had any blood. She had been away from him long enough now, and free of his punishments long enough that the pregnancy had been able to take root this time. Sansa suddenly felt sick. She didn't want to carry the child of that monster. She didn't want his horrible eyes looking up at her in her baby. This couldn't be happening.

"Are you alright?" Jaime asked, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor.

"I think I'm pregnant." She said in just barely a whisper.

Jaime only stared at her in shock or disbelief for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"I had no moonblood…"

"Right… well we'll find a maester as soon as we can and make sure you're alright." He said.

"I'm fine. Really."

Jaime gave her a look.

"I mean, I'm healthy." She clarified.

They rode towards the coast in silence for much of the day. Sansa didn't feel like talking. There was too much weighing on her mind to really try and form words. Jaime seemed to understand as he did not push her to speak until she was ready. They reached the sea a few hours later. Jaime pulled the horse to a stop and dismounted. There were no boats or people or village in sight just yet.

He reached up for her to help her down. "Come down here and look at the sea?"

She let him help her down and then she walked with him a short distance while they watched the waves come crashing in. Jaime knew that Sansa was upset about the pregnancy and he couldn't think of a thing to say that would be helpful.

It was cold on the beach where they walked. A crisp wind was blowing and their cloaks weren't quite enough to keep out the chill.

"You're cold?" Jaime asked her but it wasn't really a question. "Come here and be warm."

He hugged her and she wept in his arms. He knew without her telling him that she wept for her lost family, and for Winterfell, and for all that she had suffered under Joffrey and Ramsay. And she wept for the baby that she didn't want to have. He had rescued her from the Boltons but there was nothing he could to to rescue her from this.

( _Note: I just wanted to say that I didn't add the pregnancy to the story for shock value, just as I didn't add any of the other negative events for that reason. I'm just trying to make the events play out as they would naturally occur in this scenario... and it seems unlikely to me that Sansa could be married to Ramsay for any length of time without becoming pregnant.)_


	12. Chapter 12

They came upon a little a little fishing village late that same afternoon. Sansa had covered her hair with the hood of her cloak and Jaime wore a glove over his golden hand just to keep from being recognized. The village was a bit of a shanty town. There were cottages and huts as well as fishing boats and nets along the shore. An old man was the first to see them approaching.

"Are you looking for an Inn? Because we haven't got one." The old man said in a grumpy tone.

"Actually we'd much prefer a ship. I suppose you haven't got one of those either?" Jaime said.

"Nope." The old man said.

"Do you know if there will be a ship coming here any time soon?" Jaime asked him.

"Ships come and go. I don't know when. If you want to wait for one, you can't wait here." Said the grumpy old man. An old woman slipped up behind him.

"Derak, don't be so rude!" The old woman scolded him. "These people are obviously very weary travellers. The least we can do is offer a little hospitality."

" _You_ can offer hospitality if you want, but leave me out of it, woman!" Derak stormed off.

"Please forgive him." The old woman said. "My husband is very wary of strangers. My name is Lineth."

Jaime introduced them under their false names and gave her the story of why they wanted to reach the south. Lineth offered to let them stay in her cottage while they waited for a ship.

"It shouldn't take more than a fortnight before a ship arrives." Lineth was saying. They were inside her small cottage and Lineth was working on filling a tub with water she had heated near the fire. "In the meantime we have plenty of fish to eat and warm water for a bath and I have clothes I'll share with your wife… but you'll have to sleep on the floor by the fire. My husband would likely kill me if I even suggested he give up his bed for a guest."

"It's no problem." Jaime told her. "You needn't trouble yourself about where we sleep. Your assistance is much appreciated." He had enough money with him to pay her for her help but he decided against it. These weren't the sort of people who saw gold coins very often. Suddenly coming into possession of gold coins from the hands of travelling strangers would only put these people in danger from the Boltons. He would have to find some other way to repay their kindness later.

When the bath was ready Jaime went outside and left Sansa with Lineth. Sansa had trouble with the laces on the back of her dress.

"I knew you weren't lowborn." Lineth said, coming over to assist her. "You're used to having someone help you dress aren't you?"

Sansa wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want these people to get into trouble for helping them, so she said nothing.

"It's no matter. I know a few things about being a ladies maid. I'll help you with your bath." The old woman said.

As Sansa's dress came off the old woman caught sight of her scars and the remnants of bruising. She sucked in a breath. "Did your husband do this to you?" Lineth asked angry and horrified.

Sansa realized Lineth meant Jaime. "No..no it wasn't him."

"Good. He has the look of a knight about him and knights can be quick tempered. I thought...well it's none of my concern I suppose."

Sansa didn't ask what Lineth had been thinking. She didn't want to have to make up more lies to answer her questions. "What made you think he was a knight?"

"Just the way he spoke and carried himself. Lowborn men speak one way and keep their heads down. Lords are fat and lazy and give lots of orders, but knights are men of authority who pretend to be fearless." Lineth explained. "Your Beric is one of the latter."

After Sansa was done with her bath, her hostess gave her a clean peasant dress to wear. It was a little large for her but that wouldn't matter for much longer anyway with the a baby growing inside her. When Jaime came back for his bath Lineth told them she was leaving to check on a pregnant neighbor and she left the two of them alone.

Sansa stood by the fireplace, a blush on her cheeks, unsure what to do with herself as the cottage was all one room. Jaime caught the look on her face and laughed.

"Are you frightened of seeing a naked man." Jaime said, unlacing his tunic.

"No." Sansa said.

"You could go catch Lineth and tell her you want to meet this pregnant neighbor and find out more about what to expect from your pregnancy." He suggested.

Sansa took his advice and all but ran out of the cottage.


	13. Chapter 13

Sansa had been telling the truth when she'd said she wasn't afraid of seeing a naked man. What had made her uncomfortable was the realization that she was curious about him, about what he might look like shirtless. She'd never allowed herself to have such sordid thoughts before. She had been too innocent prior to her marriage to want anything more from men than trinkets and kisses. She had liked to look at Ser Loras once long ago, but she never considered anything untoward where he was concerned. And she had never cared for seeing Ramsay even fully clothed. She would have never stayed in the room while Jaime bathed, it was simply the realization that she wanted to that had thrown her completely off guard. What had gotten into her to even be thinking such things?

Jaime and Sansa stayed with Derak and Lineth for several days while they waited for a ship. They assisted them in their work by day. Jaime helped Derak fishing however he could though his help was limited without having the use of two hands. Sansa helped Lineth with the work around the house. By night they slept on a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. It wasn't cold so they didn't bother to sleep close together as before. Sansa was glad for that. She wasn't sure she was ready to be close to him after the indelicate thoughts she'd been having about him.

One morning on the sixth day of their stay Jaime and Sansa left the cottage to feed the chickens. Sansa had offered Lineth to take over some of her chores and as Derak seemed to be in an especially bad mood, Jaime offered to go with her just to get away from him. They were just returning to the cottage when they heard raised voices inside.

"You know as well as I do that they aren't who they say they are!" Derak was shouting.

"They haven't given us any _real_ reason not to believe their story." Lineth protested gently.

"I can think of one. They been here near a week and the haven't kissed or fucked even once. They don't even sleep close together." Derak said irritated.

"Maybe they aren't like you and would rather have some privacy. Maybe they're fucking right now!" Lineth retorted.

"With the chickens?"

"Yes! With the chickens! Why not?" She shot back at him.

"All I'm saying woman is that if they aren't who they say they are and they're pulling us into their highborn problems it will only mean trouble for us." Derak said.

Sansa glanced up at Jaime with a blush on her cheeks. She was more than a little uncomfortable with what they were hearing. "We could just leave the village." She suggested in a near whisper.

Jaime shook his head. "If we do they'll know it was a lie and they'll be in more trouble if anyone questions them. Besides we have to be here when the ship arrives. We have to stick to the story."

"Alright." She nodded.

"And we have to make them believe it, for their own good." Jaime said, meeting her eyes.

Sansa swallowed, unsure what he meant by that but if he meant what she thought he meant…"Do you mean…?"

"It would be better if we slept the way we used to in the cold. And it would be better if they were to see me kiss you at least once." He suggested.

"Alright." Sansa agreed and she found that it wasn't a difficult thing to agree to at all.

That evening after the candles had all been blown out and their hosts had gone to their bed in the corner of the cottage, Jaime pulled Sansa into his arms and held her close. It wasn't the same sort of embrace like when they had been trying to keep warm. There was something more intimate about it. His left hand was on her backside, his right arm around her back so that her body was pressed close to his. He had only intended to kiss her once. Just one noisy kiss so that his hosts would know it had happened. Once he started kissing her he found that he didn't want to stop. He forced himself to pull away after a short time. To his surprise, Sansa reached for him and kissed him a second time. Her kiss was more desperate than his head been and he wondered then if it wasn't just an act anymore. Maybe she wanted to be kissed. He didn't take time to ask her if that's what she was thinking. He decided to just go with it for as long as she was willing to let it last.


	14. Chapter 14

Sansa woke up in Jaime's arms the next morning feeling guilty. That hadn't been just an act on her part. She had _liked_ kissing him. For just a little while she had been able to forget all that she had suffered and actually feel something good for a change. It hadn't even occurred to her to worry that he might take it further than kissing. She supposed afterwards that he probably wouldn't have, not with other people in the room, maybe that was why she had felt comfortable enough to kiss him as she had. Now she was feeling guilty. It was one thing to let a Lannister rescue her and quite another to behave as she had with him. It wasn't just about the way she had behaved. They had agreed to kiss so that their hosts wouldn't suspect the truth about them. The problem was the way she had felt about it.

Jaime woke up a short time after Sansa did and found her staring listlessly at the dying embers of the fireplace. Their hosts were still asleep. "Come, let's go feed the chickens. We can talk out there."

They went outside and neither of them said a word until the chickens were fed.

"Sansa...I…" Jaime began, he was unsure what to say. He knew she was uncomfortable with what had happened between them.

"Don't." She stopped him from talking. She didn't want to know if it was just an act on his part or not and she didn't want to ever tell him how she had felt. "We don't have to talk about it. It's better if we don't."

"If that's what you want." He said.

"It is. The ship will be here in a few days and we can just forget any of this ever happened." She said.

"Right, but until then…"

"Until then we have to keep up the act. I wouldn't want any stories about us to reach Deepwood Motte and then the Boltons. We'll just keep doing what we've been doing."

He nodded and followed her back to the cottage. He caught her arm at the door. "Wait." He said with a grin. Then he reached for her and kissed her, threading his fingers into her hair and undoing the braid. He pulled away and her hair was a mess, her face was flushed. He reached up and messed up his own hair. "There, now we look like we've just fucked in the chicken coop."

Sansa glared at him for his use of language.

They went back into the cottage and found Derak and Lineth at the kitchen table. Lineth took one look at the two of them and then gave her husband and knowing look as if to say, _I told you so._ Derak only grunted in response.

They waited two more days for the ship to arrive and they were openly affectionate in that time for the sake of their hosts. There were kisses, hugs, passing touches, and then they cuddled up close together at night and kissed for a long while.

Then a ship arrived from Bear Island. The Captain told them they would be stopping along several coastal villages and ultimately heading to Lannisport to trade furs. They weren't a passenger ship but agreed to transport the two travelers for the right price. Jaime and Sansa thanked their hosts and said goodbye to them. Then they got into the rowboat which would bring them to the ship anchored just offshore.

The first night on board the ship was very awkward. They had been able to secure a cabin, a small room with a large bed and a chest to store any belongings. Sansa sat on the edge of the bed, unsure what to do with herself now that they were alone again. Jaime watched her growing discomfort and then sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Sansa…" He began.

"No." She said firmly.

"We're going to have to talk about it sometime." He said.

"No we don't. We can just pretend it didn't happen." She said.

"Maybe you can…" Jaime left the rest unsaid.

"I'm tired." She said, not wanting to acknowledge what he had said. "I think I'd like to go to sleep if you don't mind."

And so he let her sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Sansa lay on the bed with her eyes closed for a long time. She was trying to sleep or at least pretend to be asleep because she didn't want to face _him._ She didn't know how to handle any of the things that had happened in the last few weeks. She was travelling to a castle she didn't really want to be at. She was having a baby that didn't want to have. She was having feelings that hadn't wanted to have… no, she had wanted the feelings, just not with him. She didn't have any idea how to forgive herself for this.

She felt movement on the bed of him lying down next to her. He kept to his own side of the bed which she was thankful for, but she still found his proximity distracting. At least they weren't on horseback anymore. Their horse had been given to Derak and Lineth as payment for all their help. Sansa hoped she wouldn't ever have to share a horse with him again. Being locked away in this tiny cabin sharing a bed was hardly an improvement though. He moved his arm and rested it next to her own, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his skin. How in seven hells was she ever going to fall asleep with him there? She couldn't just forget everything that had happened in spite of her insistence that she could.

Jaime wasn't finding it any easier to sleep than Sansa was. For the past three nights she had lay in his arms and kissed him for hours. It hadn't been just an act. She could have stopped at any time. He even given her chances to stop and she would pull him back to her and continue kissing him. On the last night, her hands had roamed his body and he had done the same with her, slipping his left hand under her shift to cup her breast. She had moaned at that and pressed herself closer to him. She had wanted more just as he had, there was no denying it. And yet she was now refusing to admit that it had even happened. Maybe she had lingering fears about being with a man because of the things Ramsay had done to her. Or maybe the problem was his past relationship with Cersei. He supposed he wasn't going to find out since she was refusing to talk about it.

The following day they occupied themselves by reading. The Captain had a few books in his cabin which he loaned to them to pass the time. The first one was a Targaryn history volume.

"I've heard this one." Jaime said after Sansa had read a couple of pages out loud. "Tyrion was obsessed with dragons as a boy. He had this book all but memorized and he told me all about it every day for months."

"Should I read something else?" Sansa asked him.

"No… I was just thinking, when you were married to Tyrion, you said he was kind to you, did you care for him at all?"

Sansa closed the book. "No, not like that. I liked him as well as I could given the circumstances, but I didn't trust him."

"Like you don't trust me?"

"I never said…"

"You didn't have to say it. I'm a Lannister, you're a Stark. There's bound to be some mistrust." He said.

"I suppose there is." She conceded.

"It doesn't mean we can't feel anything for each other." He said.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about this." Sansa said, opening the book back up.

"Just answer one question for me and I won't make you speak of it again." Jaime said. "Are you keeping your distance because of Cersei?" He had to know if his relationship with his sister might mean that no woman who knew about it would ever want him.

"No…" Sansa seemed a little surprised by the question. "No I don't care about that… I keep my distance only because I feel...disloyal to my family...and guilty…"

"I suppose that makes sense… but you needn't feel guilty…"

"Why not?" The question was tinged with anger. "Because you had nothing to do with the death of Jory Cassel? Because it wasn't _your_ son who had my father beheaded? Because it wasn't your father who ordered my brother and mother killed?" She was staring to cry.

"I did kill Jory Cassel." He admitted calmly. "But I had no control over the things my family chose to do. I only have control over what _I_ do, just as you do."

"Then tell me truthfully that you've never harmed a Stark by your own hand?"

"I can't do that…" He said sadly, remembering Brandon Stark the boy he had pushed from the tower.

"Then I can't stop feeling guilty." Sansa told him. Then she immediately picked the book back up and resumed reading aloud.


	16. Chapter 16

It was even more difficult to sleep the next night on the ship than it had been the first night. Sansa couldn't stop wondering which Starks Jaime might have harmed. She hadn't asked for clarification when he said it. Some part of her didn't want to know. And some other part of her _did_ want to know. She tossed and turned for a while unable to stop thinking about it and about the coming baby and about the man next to her.

"Will you please stop moving?" Jaime asked her after a while, slightly irritated.

"I can't help it." She said.

"Then try counting sheep or something." He said,

"I don't want to count sheep." She was irritated this time. "I highly doubt that it would even help."

"Fine, then I'll count sheep." He said and began counting aloud. "One sheep… two sheep.. three sheep… four… five… six….seven... eight…"

"Stop that!"

"Are you going to stay still now?" He asked.

"Yes!"

She stayed still but was tense with all the thoughts still coursing through her. Finally she could take it no longer and she asked the question that had been on her mind all day. "Which Stark did you harm?"

"Sansa...maybe it would be better if you didn't know the answer to that…"

" _Which_ Stark did you harm?" She repeated more firmly this time.

"It was your brother Brandon. I pushed him from the tower."

Sansa felt almost as if she had been struck.

"Say something?" Jaime asked after she had been silent a couple of minutes.

"Why...why did you do it?"

"He saw Cersei and I. If he had told anyone Robert would have…"

"He would have killed Joffrey and Tommen and Myrcella." Sansa finished for him.

"I'm sorry." He said, though he knew it wasn't nearly enough.

"Just… let's just go to sleep."

It wasn't any easier to fall asleep after all that than it had been before. The one thought that Sansa kept coming back to was that Starks and Lannisters had been fighting for far too long and it needed to end. Everything they had done to one another had been retaliation for one deed after another. It hurt knowing what he had done to Bran but it was just another hurt to add to the list of so many things that had been done to her and her family. She didn't want to live with this hurt and bitterness anymore. She wanted to find a way to move past it, only she didn't know how.

Sansa woke in the morning and found that she sleeping in Jaime's arms again. She didn't know if she had sought him out in her sleep or if he had sought her out. She pulled away from him and felt immediately lonely, then angry at herself for missing him at all. He didn't deserve to be missed by her. Not after what he had done to her little brother. Except he had risked his life, risked the possibility of getting flayed in order to rescue her from Ramsay. Had he somehow been trying all along to atone for what he'd done? Could someone risking their life for a person absolve them of trying to kill a person? She didn't know the answer to that question. She didn't want to think about it. Sansa picked up her book and tried to think about something else. Anything else.

Jaime woke to find Sansa sitting next to him reading. She was doing her best to ignore him he could see. Still, he knew she wasn't entirely immune to him. He had woken in the middle of the night and found her hugging him. He wasn't sure how she had gotten there. Maybe he had reached for her in his sleep. She had seemed happy enough to be close to him in sleep. That had to mean something, didn't it? No, it probably only meant that she was lonely and hurting and scared and the only person left to comfort her was a crippled enemy of her house.


	17. Chapter 17

After breakfast the next morning Sansa suggested that Jaime spend some time with the crew. He did. They soon fell into a routine which had them spending less time together than before. When they were together, they didn't talk much, mostly just read aloud or silently read separate books. They went to bed on their own sides of the bed at night and though some mornings they woke up hugging other mornings they didn't.

Nearly a fortnight passed in this manner until the ship arrived at the first stop on their journey. It was just another village. Some of the crew went ashore to trade and to find the company of a woman no doubt. The ship stayed anchored offshore for two days before all the men came back. Sansa and Jaime stayed board until they did. Then ship was rife with gossip and news from the seven kingdoms. There was of course news of marriages and births and deaths among noble houses. And there was news that Ramsay Bolton had somehow let his Stark bride escape. But the most talked about news was that of the Targaryen ships that had been spotted in Blackwater bay. Everyone was wondering if the stories of Danaerys having three dragons were true, and if she had brought the dragons with her, and if she intended to sack Kings Landing?

It was more than a week before they reached the next stop. The crewmen returned to the ship with more news than before. Jaime waited on deck of the ship for three hours for the crew to return. Sansa joined him a few minutes before the men came back.

"So what's the news boys?" The captain asked as the men and boys climbed on board.

"She did it! The Targaryen woman sacked Kings Landing!" Said one crew member.

"She brought three dragons. They were real. They say the battle lasted four days." Added another. "A new Queen sits the Iron Throne now."

"It will not be so simple as that." The Captain said. "The rest of the seven kingdoms may not bow to her without a fight… we shall see…"

"And what of King Tommen?" Jaime asked them. "What happened to him?"

Sansa realized that in spite of Jaime pretending to not care about his children, he was worried about them.

"King Tommen fell in battle." One of the crew spoke up again. They did nothing to soften the blow with their words as they only knew Jaime as Beric Hill. "They say he fought bravely right up to the end. It turns out that he was better with a sword than anyone ever knew. Songs will be written about his deeds in that battle."

Jaime blanched white but went on to ask another question. "What happened to the King's mother? Was she taken prisoner?"

"No, no, nothing so kind as that." One of the men said. "They are saying that she was killed by her own brother the imp. Tyrion Lannister serves the new queen. After the battle ended he went to the holdfast where the women were and set them all free… except for Cersei. He sentenced her to to death as Hand of the Queen and didn't bother to wait for a headsman. Just strangled her right there…"

Jaime felt sick. He left the ship's deck and went back down to their cabin. Then men were already talking about something else. About how the prices of their goods might lose value now that there was a new war. Sansa followed him slowly down to the cabin. She didn't want to stay on deck alone with all those strange men. She stood outside the cabin door unsure if she wanted to go in or not. She could hear him pacing back and forth in the small space on the other side of the door.

Sansa heard it the moment that his pacing ended and he sat down on the bed. And she heard it when he began to weep. She couldn't help but remember how she had felt when each of her family members had died and she had been all alone with no one to comfort her. Could she really be cold enough to leave him to the same fate? It seemed like he had been trying to redeem himself for the things he had done, He had taken her from Ramsay and had been kind to her when no one else was. Sansa took a deep breath and tentatively opened the door to the cabin.


	18. Chapter 18

( _note: Some elements from this part of the story are taken from the book version of events rather than the TV show.)_

Sansa went into the room and saw that Jaime tried to avoid her eyes. He sucked in a breath as if to compose himself and pretend he hadn't been crying. She remembered having to do that so many times in King's Landing, having to pretend that she wasn't upset that her family was gone, having to hide her tears. She crossed the room and stood in front of him. He still refused to look at her.

"Jaime…" She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He said, but the tone of his voice said otherwise.

"I know you're not." She told him gently. "It's a horrible thing to lose people you love and then be forced to pretend you don't care it happened. You don't have to pretend with me…no more pretending."

At that his arms came around her and he hugged her so tightly that it almost hurt. She didn't complain. His head was resting against her chest and she did her best to comfort him, running her fingers through his hair and rubbing his back. She knew it would never be enough but it was all she could do.

It was long while before Jaime was able to calm himself enough to let go of Sansa. He looked up at her and could see that she was worried about him. After all he had done and all his family had done she had still managed to find some compassion for the likes of him.

She sat down next to him on the bed after he let her go. "Do you want to talk about it, about them?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "Even if I did, I can't imagine you'd like to hear anything about Cersei anyhow."

"Perhaps not, but I would listen anyway, and I liked Tommen…"

"I barely knew Tommen." Jaime said, a mixture of anger and sadness.

"I always thought he was nice boy. If what they say about the battle was true, if he was skilled with a sword… he must have gotten most of his nature from you." Sansa told him.

Jaime glanced over at her with disbelief. "How do you do it?" He asked.

"How do I do what?"

"How can you have suffered so much and still remain strong and caring enough to take care of other people?" He asked.

"I...I don't know... I only know that I don't wish my pain on others… the things I have suffered makes me want to help…"

Jaime nodded and the two of them fell silent for a long while.

"Will we still be going to Casterly Rock?" Sansa asked breaking the silence.

"I don't know. We'll have to get some word of where the new Queen's allegiances lie. Who knows, maybe Tyrion wants me dead too."

"Why would he want you dead? I understand why with Cersei, after Joffrey's trail and all, and he told me once that she blamed him for your mother's death… but why would he want to kill you?"

"Maybe so I won't kill him first, or maybe because of Tysha."

Sansa looked confused.

"Tyrion told you he was married once long ago?" Jaime asked her.

"Yes, I heard the story. Her name was Tysha?"

"Yes. The part of the story that you don't know is that Tysha was never a whore. She was just a common girl. My father told to me to lie to Tyrion for his own good...and when I helped him escape his execution I told him the truth…. he was angry that I had ruined his chance at happiness...then he killed our father before he left the city… he might want me dead for that or he might think I want him dead for our father's death." Jaime told her with a bit of anger.

"Do you? Do you want him dead?" Sansa asked.

"I don't know."

When they went to bed that night Sansa didn't keep to her side of the bed as they had been doing since they boarded the ship. Jaime was facing away from her. She slid up close to him and wrapped one arm around his chest. He didn't say anything. He just took her hand in his own and held it tightly.


	19. Chapter 19

( _note: This story was originally rated M. I changed it to T. With this chapter I'm wondering if I should change it back to M? I tried not to give too many copious details, but proceed with caution anyway)_

Jaime woke up facing Sansa and with his arms wrapped around her. They had woken up like this many times since setting sail. There was this unspoken rule between them that whichever of them woke first would get out of bed so that all of the awkwardness of waking up embraced would be avoided. She was still asleep. It was his turn to just get up and let her go. Except she _had_ willingly hugged him the night before. And she had said that they were going to stop pretending, whatever that meant. He only knew that he didn't want to let her go. He wanted the comfort of kissing her, of being inside her...he had wanted that long before he'd heard about the deaths of his sister and son, and now he just wanted to forget the pain for a little while.

Sansa seemed a little surprised when she woke up in Jaime's arms and found him awake. She didn't pull away. Instead she reached up and rested her hand on his cheek. He turned his head just slightly and kissed the inside of her wrist. He felt her sharp intake of breath at the sensation he noted the flush on her cheeks. He kissed a little further down her arm and her breathing quickened. He kept going, placing gentle kisses all the way up her arm, then on to her shoulder, collarbone, then her neck. By the time he reached her lips she had pressed her body close to his and she moaned when his tongue went into her mouth. Her hands began to roam his body and to his astonishment he felt her untying his breeches.

He pulled away just slightly, a question in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, but if it's too soon…"

"No, it's not."

"Just… just… be gentle with me...please…" She said and he could see that she was afraid.

"I won't hurt you." He said, trying to reassure her.

"Is that even possible?" She asked.

"What? Of course it's possible. It's not supposed to be painful." He said.

She looked away from him, hurt in her eyes.

"You didn't know that." Jaime realized that her only experience was with a man who wasn't capable of being gentle.

"I had heard it wasn't supposed to be but…"

"But you've never experienced it." He finished her thought.

Sansa nodded.

"I won't hurt you Sansa. I promise." Jaime said, and he pulled her close to him to kiss her again.

Neither of them went to breakfast that morning up in the galley. They were too busy with other pursuits in their cabin. Jaime kept his promise to Sansa. He didn't hurt her. He took his time with her and let her experience her first real taste of pleasure. It was good to forget their pain for a little while.

Jaime left her that noonday to go bring food to their cabin from the galley kitchen. Sansa didn't like to eat with the crew. She didn't like the way some of the men looked at her. After Jaime was gone she got up to dress and make their bed. She flipped back the covers and saw blood on the sheets. Confused, she looked down at herself. Did this mean she was losing another baby? There had been pain the last two times. This had to be something else. She cleaned herself up and waited for Jaime to return with lunch. She said nothing to him about the blood.

A few hours later the pains began.

"What's wrong?" He could see right away that she wasn't well.

"I think...I think I may not need to worry about the pregnancy any more." She told him. She sounded worried.

"Oh." Jaime didn't know what else to say.

"You don't have to say anything. This is for the best. I'm only concerned that...well this is the third time...what if I can never carry children?"

Jaime still didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything. He just hugged her.


	20. Chapter 20

A few hours passed and all the cramping pain in Sansa's belly stopped. The bleeding stopped too. They had already gone to bed by then and Jaime was asleep, arms around her. There hadn't been enough blood or enough pain for the pregnancy to be ended yet, not nearly so much as the other times. Sansa started to panic. For a moment, just a brief moment, she had allowed herself to believe that everything was going to be okay. She should have known it couldn't be that simple. It never was. She started to cry.

"Sansa?" Jaime woke up to her tears,

"I'm sorry. I think maybe I was wrong...about the baby. The pain is gone. The bleeding has stopped." She told him.

He sighed and responded by pulling her closer to him.

There was little chance of Sansa falling asleep after that. She couldn't help but wonder if she and Jaime being together that morning had been what set off the bleeding. She had heard of some pregnant women keeping their husbands out of their beds for the sake of the baby. Could that be why this had happened? It had to be. If that was the case then continuing to be close with him would only set it off again.

The following day Jaime didn't leave to go spend time with crew like he had been doing before. He had too much weighing on his mind to want to face them anyway and Sansa didn't want him gone anymore. They sat and talked for much of the day. Sometimes they kissed but that was all. Jaime wanted to give her time to recover from the near miscarriage and she wanted to give him time to mourn though neither of them spoke of their reasons. A few days passed in this manner.

The ship stopped along the coast at another village. They were nearing the South now. Sansa and Jaime went up on deck just to get a look at the shore and see what part of the country they were in. The crew getting ready to go ashore were placing bets.

"Put down a Stag for me on fealty for Jaime Lannister." One of the men said.

"Not me, I say it's gonna be execution for him." Another said.

"What's all this?" Jaime dared to ask.

"Some of the fellows have been placing bets on the fate of Jaime Lannister." The Captain explained. "He's been missing for a long while. Been accused of kidnapping the Stark girls from the Boltons. So the new Queen and her Hand are most likely looking for him. The fellows here can't agree if she will call for his execution or call for him to come swear fealty to her."

"My bet is on execution." Jaime said, as if he didn't care about what he'd just heard.

"How much should we put you down for?" The Captain asked.

"Three Stags." Jaime said.

"Three? Why so much?" The Captain said.

"Because I'm pretty sure our new Queen wants to see her father's murderer dead."

"Do you really think she'll call for your execution?" Sansa asked him once they were back in their room.

"It's likely."

"She can't." Sansa said, hugging him tightly. "I can't watch another king or queen kill someone that I…"

Jaime suspected she had almost said _love._ And he knew he hadn't done anything to deserve her love. It bothered him more than he could say that he had come so close to getting her to a place of safety only to have it all unravel before his eyes. Casterly Rock would no longer be a safe place to take her. Even if it were, he no longer had any influence with the monarch. He couldn't remove the Boltons from Winterfell without the help of the crown. Maybe they could continue to pretend to be someone else and live among the common people for a while but even then there was always the danger that someone would figure it out and he would be executed and leave her to fend for herself. Yet no matter how long he thought about the matter he couldn't think of a good solution.


	21. Chapter 21

Sansa hadn't meant to say she loved Jaime. At least she didn't think she had. She only knew that the thought of his being executed scared her. She didn't want to lose any more people that she cared about and she did care about him. How could she have allowed herself to do that? What had she thought was going to happen? That he would somehow manage to get rid of the Boltons and come live with her at Winterfell? Or that he would ask her to marry him and be the Lady of the Rock? Whatever this was between them, it was going to be temporary whether she wanted it to be or not. Had he realized that all along?

It was difficult to be patient as they waited for the sailors to come back with news from the mainland. Jaime and Sansa sat silently on the bed reading on the second day after the men went ashore and they were interrupted by a knock on their cabin door. Jaime went to answer it. Their Captain stood on the other side.

"Captain Edwin." Jaime said.

"You've won your bet." The man said, placing a handful of coins in Jaime's hand. "Seems the new Queen wants you dead."

"What?" Jaime tried to pretend he had no idea what the man was talking about.

Captain Edwin stepped out of the hallway and into the room, closing the door behind him. "I've known for a while who you were. You fit all the descriptions. Frankly, I knew and I didn't care, at least not when I took you on board. If some knight steals a Lord's wife it's nothing to me. But if a Queen orders a man executed along with anyone who dares to hide him...well I do care about that."

"Are you telling us you want us off your ship?" Jaime asked concerned.

"Seven hells no! I'm telling you I'm turning this ship around and taking us all back to Bear Island." He said.

"I don't understand." Sansa spoke up.

"If if go to Lannisport now it will put everyone on this ship at risk. The fact is I was born in the north. I serve House Mormont my lady. The Mormonts serve House Stark. I'd rather serve a new Queen in the North than a new one in the South and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way. And I'll not hand over for execution the man who rescued the last Stark. I'll take you both back to Bear Island and at least put up a good fight before I'll do that." Edwin said.

Jaime looked to Sansa to see what she made of all this. She seemed in shock. "Thank you." Jaime said to Edwin.

The older man nodded. "There's no sense in calling yourself Beric after this." Edwin said with a laugh as he left them.

"Do you really think anyone would try to crown me Queen of the North?" Sansa asked Jaime as the door closed.

"They might."

"I don't want to be a Queen." She said.

"Which is exactly the reason why you'd make a good one." Jaime told her.

That night as they were kissing Jaime lightly tugged at the hem of her shift as if to get her to take it off. She pulled away from him gently.

"Maybe we shouldn't." She said. "Maybe that was what caused all the bleeding before."

"I doubt it… I don't know much about these things though… you could be right...but I thought…" He didn't know how to say that he thought she hadn't wanted the child anyway so it shouldn't matter. He wouldn't say that.

"I know. You're right. I didn't want this baby. I don't want this baby. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to knowingly end this." She said, teary eyed,

"They should have a maester on Bear Island. He'll be able to tell you what's safe and what isn't." He said.

"I'm sorry." Sansa said, meeting his eyes.

"Sansa, I don't care. Really. I'm happy just to be near you." Jaime told her and he meant every word of it.


	22. Chapter 22

The morning after the ship was turned around, Jaime and Sansa notcied the change in the crew. The sailors were anxious and wary of them. They knew it was because of the new queen's command concerning Jaime and even because Ramsay Bolton was still looking for Sansa. Even so, it was strange to go from being the equals of these men to highborn fugitives instead. No one spoke to them anymore. And if by chance they had to speak the sailors were as courteous and brief as possible.

At the noonday meal Jaime went up to the galley to get food for them and Sansa was alone in their room when a knock sounded at the door. She went to the door but didn't open it.

"Who is it?" She called out.

"It's Captain Edwin. Might I have a word with you my lady?" He asked.

Sansa wasn't sure she wanted to speak with him alone but Jaime would be back any moment, it should be safe enough. She opened the door.

"I came to ask after your welfare." The older man said in a kindly tone.

"I am well enough, thank you for your concern." Sansa told him.

"What I mean is, I can not tell if you are here of your own free will or not. All the north knows that your husband the bastard of Bolton was not a kind man… but we can not guess why you would leave with a Lannister unless he forced your hand. If you are wanting to be free of him, I'll gladly give you a cabin of your own and I'll let him off at Deepwood Motte and let the North deal with him." Edwin told her seriously.

"No.' Sansa said wide eyed. "No there's no need for all that. Ser Jaime has been very kind to me. I left with him of my own free will." She told him.

"Forgive me for being so blunt my lady, but is he your sworn shield or are you his mistress?"

Sansa blushed, she hadn't expected such a personal question. Had she been thinking more clearly she might have refused to answer. "Both...I suppose."

"I see. I wouldn't have expected it of a Stark…" He said shaking his head as he walked away.

Sansa closed the door behind him. somewhat lost in thought. She had never thought she would be any man's mistress. She was going to be a lady of a castle, married, and always faithful to her husband. Yet here she was running away from her husband and sharing a bed with another man. The strange part was, she didn't feel any real guilt about being unfaithful to her husband. He had been a monster and she had never loved him. Her only guilt was in being unfaithful to her family and even that she had managed to push aside, at least she pushed it aside while she was in his arms.

Jaime returned to her a short time later with food. "Apparently the sailors are speaking to me now." He said as he entered the room. "You'll never guess what they asked me to do."

Sansa took the bowl of stew he offered and didn't even try to make a guess.

"Some of the lads were sparring with practice swords. I told them they were doing it wrong and all of a sudden they want me to teach them how to use a sword properly." Jaime said.

"Are you going to do it?" She asked, maybe it would be good for him to have something to occupy his time.

He shrugged. "It's not as if there's a lot of other things to do around here. I told them I'd work with them after breakfast tomorrow."

"Good." She said, thinking that if Jaime could get these men to like him then it would be less likely the Captain could repeat his idea of throwing Jaime out a Deepwood Motte.


End file.
